Chikkaballapur (KTK): Carrying the tag of a “migratory bird”, former Chief Minister and state JDS chief H D Kumaraswamy has taken a gamble on a new turf ranging himself against Union Minister M Veerappa Moily from Chikkaballapur Lok Sabha constituency, making it a tight race.
Kumaraswamy is seeking to gain hold in a territory where voters from the Vokkaliga community from which he hails number about two lakh out of 16 lakh voters.
Kumaraswamy, son of former Prime Minister and JDS chief H D Deve Gowda had quit as MP of Bangalore Rural after winning from Ramanagaram in the Assembly polls. In the bypoll, his wife Anita Kumaraswamy was humbled by Congress' D K Suresh, brother of his bitter foe minister D K Shivakumar.
JDS has only two MLAs from Chikkaballapur Lok Sabha constituency, where the voters are mainly from OBC, SC and ST.
A heavyweight nonetheless, Kumaraswamy's entry has made the battle tough for Moily, who had comfortably taken on a weak opponent in BJP's C Ashwathanarayana in the 2009 polls.
